Thursday, September 20, 2012

At the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena earlier this year, a decision was taken to conduct
a pan-American review of drug policy in the region. It is now well underway.

We now know the terms of reference for the review, what it will comprise of, and the
timeline for the work of OAS/CICAD. Click the image below to see more:

The timeline in the document shows that the two elements of
the project – an analytical report and a scenario planning process – will be
completed by June 2013. Text below in italics is cut and pasted from the report.

Analytical element

The Technical Unit of the OAS will compile and analyze the
information for the analytical report, which will be divided into the following
chapters consistent with the different areas of the problem targeted by the
study:

Relationship between drugs and public health

Relationship between drugs and economic and social development

Security challenges as reflected in the nexus between drugs, violence and organized crime

Production and supply of drugs, pharmaceuticals, and chemical precursors

Legal and regulatory approaches to the drug problem

The comprehensive, transparent report will also highlight
the systemic inter-relationships among these areas.

The report will not provide specific policy recommendations
but rather lay out different sets of policy options.

Each of the former chapters will:

Provide a baseline analysis of the current state of play in the region with respect to the drug situation

Examine best practices and promising new approaches being pursued by different countries, with the point of departure being the Hemispheric Drug Strategy

The scenario report will be carried out with the contributions
of Dr. Adam Kahane, Partner of Reos Partners and
Associate Fellow at the SaïdBusinessSchool,
University of Oxford. Kahane is the
organizer, designer and facilitator of processes in which political leaders,
businessmen and civil society leaders work together to address their most
complex challenges. He is the author of "How to Solve Complex
Problems: a Novel Way
of Speaking, Listening and Creating New Realities," “Power
and Love: A Theory and Practice for Social Change " and
"Transformative Scenario Planning: Working Together to Change the
Future." Kahane organized and managed scenario projects
including “Destino
Colombia" (1996), and "Visión Guatemala" (1998), and
managed scenario programs in Bolivia,
Argentina, Paraguay, Peru,
El Salvador, and Honduras.

We can safely assume that the scenario planning element is likely to provide the most room to explore alternatives as it would appear to be a process less vulnerable to political interference.

One last point is worth making. Section 3 of the
report is headed WHAT THIS PROJECT WILL NOT DO. This is
telling. Nowhere in the report does it say what the report WILL
do. We can assume that this is a clear attempt, presumably by the US and their
allies, or by those wishing to appease them, to denude the process of any usefulness
in the real world. It says: This proposal does NOT intend to:

Propose recommendations for changes in national drug control
policies

Promote a debate or a specific proposal on drug legalization

Disregard the basis for current policies, including the
Hemispheric Drug Strategy and Plan of Action 2011-2015

Serve as a platform for a political negotiation

Define or promote an ideal or favorite scenario

So, on the face of it a very important piece of work, on the
other, one that is being steered very heavily away from having any real
political traction, attempting to turn it into an academic exercise. This
is no surprise, given that the US
is involved in it. However, the shifting dynamics in both North and South America make for an interesting process and an even more interesting
entry for the report into the geopolitical sphere next June.

Lastly, here is a link to a video of a seminar that took place at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies - “Current Perspectives on Illicit Drug Policies”, on May 11, 2012. It demonstrates the key perspectives in the global drug policy debate - including contributions from:

The Honorable Marilyn A. QuagliottiDeputy Director for Supply Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy, ONDCP,“U.S. Drug Policy and the Obama Administration’s Efforts to
Rebalance the Way the U.S. Addresses This Global Challenge”

Dr. Craig Deare Interim Dean of Academic Affairs/Dean of Administration, CISA“Support for Decriminalization and Opinions on the Legalization of Illicit Drugs”

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